- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 29 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Great for home use and as on the go camera."
Pros: AA battery; fast start up; fast time between shots; big swivel screen; no lens cover; feature packed
Cons: Mediocore shots in bad/low lighting; little to no warning on low battery; cannot attach additional flash unit
Summary: I rate this camera a solid 8, but not higher. Here's why:
My previous camera was a Canon G2 purchased back when a 2 megapixel (MP) picture was standard. I believe the standard is up to 4MP. My reason for purchasing the A630 is that it has almost all of the same features as my Canon G2, minus the ability to mount an additional flash and some editing features, which are in the end useless especially if you have photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop.
Overall this is a great camera for home use and for being on the go. It is bigger than many pocket cameras, but I have found that the swivel screen protects the screen when folded away. My wife and I also like being able to take photos of ourselves in case no one is around to help out. It is also just fun being able to rotate the screen so that people can see how they will look in the photo I am taking. The camera is still small enough to fit into a jacket pocket or a purse. It's got all the standard features and is very fast. The time to power on and take your first shot is fast so hopefully you won't miss that shot you wanted when your camera was off. You can flip the camera in a verticle or horizontal position and the photos in review mode rotate to accomdate the position the screen is in. This camera has an automatic screen cap rather than having the old style caps that are tethered to the body of the camera. This helps when taking your first shot because it is one less thing you have to worry about when turning on the camera. It is also one less thing to lose. I believe this is the best camera in this price range. I paid about $250 from newegg. It was delivered the next day via standard shipping along with an inexpensive 1GB memory card. I reccomend at least a 1GB card, which will allow you to take roughly 300 photos at a setting one step below best quality. This still allows you to print a nice 11" x 17" with no problem.
The only real downside to this camera is that the pictures taken in low light conditions are just okay as opposed to good. This is in direct comparison to my G2 where I can clearly see the difference. Given that this is a midrange point and shoot, it is forgiveable though regretable. I still would stick with this Canon any day.
The camera is operated on 4AA batteries, which is a huge plus considering lithium ion batteries cost $50. I've also had my fair share of defunct lithium batteries. The battery option is great since you can buy AAs anywhere in the event you forgot your batteries or that yours are not charged. I found that one set of batteries was more than good enough for a day of picture taking. I did run into a problem with the battery meter of the camera. The first time the battieries were low I got a warning. Normally when you get a warning, you can still take a few shots. Instead the camera shut off almost imediately. That's not much of a warning. The AA battery option though still trumps this issue with me.
The software that comes with the camera is also great. It is vastly improved from the days of my G2. There are options such as an automatic feature for shrinking your photos to the correct size for viewing on the internet. i.e. Sometimes you don't want to post a 1MB picture, but would rather post a lower sized image but that still has good quality.
Overall it is a great camera and is affordable. I expect this to last me at least 3 years, as my G2 lasted me about 6 years.
- 1 reply to this review
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You can use an external flash with this camera, and in fact just about any camera. The type of flash needed is called a 'slave' unit (Canon makes one but any will be OK). A proper flash will attached to a hot shoe (metal adapter usually on the top of a camera) and it is wired directly to the camera. A slave flash is not wired to the camera and in fact can be put anywhere as long as it can detect the camera's built-in flash. When the camera flashes the slave detects it and fires within milliseconds.
I believe the only Canon with a hotshoe is the S5 (excluding SLR's like the EOS series).
BTW, I like your review and agree with except for the low light level complaint. While I have not had a G2 or similar camera to make a comparison, I have just now taken two photos - at ISO 400 and 800 - in dark conditions requiring a 1 second exposure, and on a 17 inch LCD computer screen the results are very good. At 800 there is some noise but most people would not be bothered.
Where to buy
Canon PowerShot A630:
$399.00
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$399.00 | Yes |
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